LiveWell Bent

Bent County is located along the Arkansas River Valley in southeastern Colorado. The nearest metropolitan area is Pueblo, which is about one and a half hours away. The closest major metropolitan area is Denver, which is 3 hours away. According to the most recent statistics Bent County is home to 6,347 residents.

Las Animas is the county seat of Bent County and is the largest town in this frontier. The majority of acreage in this county is sustained economically by one type of agriculture or another. Many residents still till the ground on the family farm or run cattle on pasture that has been in the family for generations. Bent County also boasts economic resources in the form of two prison systems. A government owned and run Bent County Department of Corrections is located six miles east of Las Animas near the small community of Fort Lyon and is housed on  property which was once was a thriving Veteran’s Administration Hospital. The second prison, Bent County Correctional Facility is privately owned and operated and is located in the southeastern section and within the city limits of Las Animas.

Bent County is in a crisis. Statistics show a high prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a high rate of tobacco and alcohol usage. Nearly 50 percent of the population is either uninsured or underinsured. Because we are a small, rural community, we have limited health care options, few opportunities to educate our residents about health disparities and are falling prey to rising percentages of deaths to disease that should be preventable.

Bent County is currently in the planning stages of the LiveWell Colorado grant. Thus far we have worked to build a network of partners willing to help us garner community support and also structure the capacity for growth with a group of trusted advisors.  Our next steps include developing mission and vision statements for our collaborative, assessing the needs of the community for future planning, and cultivating strategies designed to dispel rampant health related disparities.

Contact Information
Bent County Nursing Service
Tammy Pryor
719.456.0517
Contact us here!